Après New York… there's Paris.

Drinking At… Le Comptoir Général

Photo courtesy of Visites-Guidees.net

I went to Le Comptoir Général tonight for my friend Aaron’s going away party and loved it! It’s a huge space that’s hard to find in the Canal St. Martin area and is so incredibly different from many of the bars I’ve been to in Paris. You basically have to go through this large gate and down what seems like a pitch black alley. But what you find at the end is this bar/restaurant/cinéma with a bunch of different rooms that have different décor and knickknacks. Imagine dusty chandeliers, a corner of “found objects”, random kindergarten-sized chairs, an old vintage poster of Tom Cruise in Top Gun, etc. It definitely screams artsy – at least to me.

There aren’t that many drinks served there – some select cocktails (that were delicious, btw), beers and wine. The bartender said they have a set variety at a low price for “the poor”. Um, ok… I think that was lost in translation. What I think she meant was that because they only have a set number of drinks, they can keep prices down so people of all economic backgrounds can have a drink there.

Apparently they have an African brunch here every Sunday, movies shown every Sunday in the “classroom”, a bookstore, children’s workshop, and more. Plus – companies can rent out the space(s) as well.